I am extremely new to this hobby. I fell in love with the Bangaai Cardinals and ordered 3 from my dealer over two weeks ago. He received them in on a Wednesday (order of 6). I picked my 3 up on Saturday. By Monday, one was hiding from the other two and gulping, hovering off the bottom. He died later that day. Got another replacement and this one went straight to hide. I went online and could only find the articles by Frank M. to look for ideas why the fish were acting the way they were. I did realize that I could have had uneven pairings. I went back and got another one to now increase the numbers to 4. By the next day, one from the original shipment died the same way. Down to three again. When the latest "guy" would venture out, the main "larger" fish would chase him back behind the rock. I concluded I must have 2 males and a female. The one I thought was female was from the original order and had stayed in one spot also during this time. I thought about taking the newcomer who was getting chased back to the dealer and holding until another shipment came in and I could try to pair up better. He died the next day. Then the other one died the next day, and finally two days later, the largest one died. All water tests come back perfect. All other fish doing great. What in the world happened? Any help would be appreciated, because I don't want to give up on having this type of fish
Bangaai Problems
- Thread starter sheryl39
- Start date
Travis L. Stevens
New member
Bangaii Cardinalfish are best kept singly or in known pairs. It can be very difficult to get them to pair. Males can actually be aggressive to females as well. Also, it takes them a fair amount of time to become brave enough to stay out in the open, so don't be afraid if they hide a little. Wild Caught Bangaii Cardinalfish are also very delicate. Careful acclimation and quarintining is a must. Similar to Amphiprion (Clownfish), Bangaii Cardinalfish are susceptible to Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans), Brook (Brooklynella), and Amy Loo (Amyloodinium). Captive bred specimens have a far better survival rate and seem to be more hearty as well.
Personally, I would stop buying all the extra ones. The dominate male WILL kill off all new comers. If you do have a female, he amy act aggressive towards it, but it will take time for them to pair. Anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Make sure that you have plenty of room in your tank so that everyone has room to run and hide. Also, make sure you read up on these guys and know when to tell whether or not they are sexually mature. A sexually immature male will chase any one if the space is confining enough.
Here is a recent publication from Hawaii about breeding Bangaiis with some of the most modern methods. It's a thrill to read and even shows the difference between a male and a female. Good luck :thumbsup:
Manual for the Production of Bangaii Cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni, in Hawaii - http://www.raingarden.us/banggaimanual.pdf
***Note: the male in the comparrison picture seems to have a brood in his mouth, so don't be taken by the mouth. The biggest feature is the pectoral fin sizes.
Personally, I would stop buying all the extra ones. The dominate male WILL kill off all new comers. If you do have a female, he amy act aggressive towards it, but it will take time for them to pair. Anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Make sure that you have plenty of room in your tank so that everyone has room to run and hide. Also, make sure you read up on these guys and know when to tell whether or not they are sexually mature. A sexually immature male will chase any one if the space is confining enough.
Here is a recent publication from Hawaii about breeding Bangaiis with some of the most modern methods. It's a thrill to read and even shows the difference between a male and a female. Good luck :thumbsup:
Manual for the Production of Bangaii Cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni, in Hawaii - http://www.raingarden.us/banggaimanual.pdf
***Note: the male in the comparrison picture seems to have a brood in his mouth, so don't be taken by the mouth. The biggest feature is the pectoral fin sizes.
There is an ongoing issue with keeping wild caught Bangai cardinals alive and it is not that the fish are 'delicate', but rather that there is an unidentified pathogen issue.
The manual linked to above mentions only getting one out of forty eight wild caught to survive and breed.
I would suggest that you look for a captive bred source.
FWIW, I have two young males in my 40g seahorse tank. So far they are able to share the tank, but there is definately a dominant male.
Fred
The manual linked to above mentions only getting one out of forty eight wild caught to survive and breed.
I would suggest that you look for a captive bred source.
FWIW, I have two young males in my 40g seahorse tank. So far they are able to share the tank, but there is definately a dominant male.
Fred
